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Breathe new life: Royal Gorge Park receives first phase of planting about 5,000 pinon pine seedlings

By Carie Canterbury

canterburyc@canoncitydailyrecord.com

Posted:
05/08/2014 09:31:18 PM MDT

Some green foliage is shown in the forefront, with a cluster of burned trees in the background of this photo taken Thursday at the Royal Gorge Park. (Carie Canterbury / Daily Record)

A small group of burned trees stands in the Royal Gorge Park area. Most of the trees burned from the June 2013 Royal Gorge Fire have been hydroaxed, and turned into mulch, and some were left for wildlife and to offer a vertical landscape. (Carie Canterbury / Daily Record)

New life is taking root at the Royal Gorge Park.

Volunteers on Thursday began the first phase of planting about 5,000 pinon pine seedlings. The seedlings are about two-feet tall now, and in about four years, they should be more visible from a distance, said Melanie Scavarda, outreach technician for the Fremont Conservation District.

About 5,000 trees will be planted by June 15, and another 5,000 seedlings will be planted in upcoming years.

Sixty-five volunteers from Keller Williams Realty rolled up their sleeves Thursday to hand seed about 20 acres of land and plant about 500 seedlings. More volunteer groups are welcome to help with the project in coming weeks, as well, Scavarda said.

About 2,200 acres of city property burned during the June 2013 Royal Gorge Fire. Crews have begun to work on an Emergency Watershed Protection Program that includes about 850 acres that are watershed drainage areas that impact the Arkansas River.

"This is the final phase of a project that started last June right after the fire," said Cañon City Water Superintendent Bob Hartzman. "We are looking forward to getting it done to help Mother Nature try to get a jump-start on recovering this area and our watershed."

He said, hopefully, the seedlings planted this spring will provide seed for future seedlings.

Crews aerially dropped about 25,000 pounds of native grass and wild flower seed Feb. 11 over a portion of the burn area. Trees in about 1,450 acres of land were hydroaxed and turned to mulch also in February.

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District Forester John Grieve with the Colorado State Forest Service said if 25 percent of the newly planted seedlings survive during the next few years, he would consider that a "great success." He said it likely took millions of seed to establish a few hundred trees per acre.

"It probably took centuries for trees to creep in and get established on this site," he said. "We've really turned the clock back with that fire. It would take centuries for this to naturally recover."

Rick Romano, district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Services, said the Arkansas Basin Roundtable came forward with support quickly, helping to garner a significant grant onto which others eventually piggy-backed.

City Parks Director Rex Brady said the City of Cañon City is extremely appreciative of the Natural Resources Conservation Services, the Bureau of Land Management, the Colorado State Forest Service and Fremont County Emergency Management for assistance in the project.

"It has been a community project from the beginning," he said. "It amazed me that after the fire was out, how quickly these groups and organizations gathered together and started the recovery process. The fire was still smoldering when that happened."

Hartzman said the Royal Gorge Company of Colorado also was a significant partner in the project because of its swift effort for initial cleanup and stabilization of the areas on the top of the gorge.

"Living in Fremont County is very unique because of the fact that businesses, government agencies and individuals are all willing to work together," Scavarda said. "That's something Fremont (County)should be proud of."

The entire project will be paid for by a $485,200 grant through the Colorado Water Conservation Board and a $385,000 EWP grant through the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Arkansas River Outfitters Association also contributed $500 to the project and the Board of Water Works Pueblo gave $5,000.

Individuals, businesses and groups are invited to help with the project, but a date and time must be scheduled in advance. To arrange a time to help with seedling planting, call Scavarda at the Fremont Conservation District office at 275-4465, ext. 109.

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